Dedicated: Sept. 25, 1917.
Location: Oak Hill at the intersection of Robinson Avenue and Doubleday Avenue.
Description: A standing portrait of General Robinson holding his sword vertically in his proper left hand. The sculpture rests atop a square granite base adorned with a bronze plaque depicting the New York state seal. The monument is installed near where Robinson’s division was stationed during the battle on July 1, 1863. The monument was erected by the state of New York. Plaques list Robinson’s accomplishments and promotions. Overall height is 20 feet.
National Park Service List of Classified Monuments Number: MN10.
Sculptor: Rhind, John Massey, 1860-1936, sculptor.
Major General John Cleveland Robinson
Robinson was born on April 10, 1817, in Binghamton, New York. He was expelled from West Point for insubordination and decided to study law. However, a year later, he commissioned as a lieutenant in the infantry. He saw significant action in the Mexican War, serving with gallantry and distinction.
Robinson maintained control of Fort McHenry at the beginning of the Civil War and went on to enlist in the volunteers as the commander of the 1st Michigan. By the time of Chancellorsville, he was a division commander in the I Corps. His division fought gallantly at Gettysburg against overwhelming odds.
At Laurel Hill (part of the Spotsylvania Campaign), Robinson was shot through the knee. His leg had to be amputated. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for placing “himself at the head of the leading brigade in a charge upon the enemy’s breastworks.” However, he could never return to field command after this and ended the War in administrative roles. After the War, he was elected the Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1872 and later served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. Robinson died on February 18, 1897 at his home in New York. He is buried in Binghamton.